Bed Sharing 101
by IntroToHumanPsych
Summary: Britta awakes to find herself in quite the unexpected situation. Takes places directly after Origins of Vampire Mythology. Britta/Annie friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this takes place directly after Origins of Vampire Mythology, like, literally that same night. **

She wakes up to the sickeningly sweet smell of strawberry shampoo a lot closer to her nose than she remembers, but can't grasp exactly why this may be.

Britta groans, eyes still shut tightly because her biological clock is telling her that it is definitely not time to get up yet. Something has woken her up too soon, and the twitch of her nose is telling her that it's just a stray hair tickling her face.

It's times like this that Britta hates being so ticklish and such a light sleeper.

Her arm emerges from the blankets, swatting at her nose in an attempt to push the offending hair away, and collides with something very solid and very human. Instantly Britta's eyes pop open, and suddenly she understands why she was being assaulted with the smell of strawberries.

_Annie_.

Britta is certain that she made the no cuddling rule very clear when she climbed into Annie's bed with her two hours earlier. It hadn't been her first choice as far as sleeping arrangements went, but even with the air mattress laid out the living room floor had been uncomfortable, and Troy and Abed wouldn't stop trying to communicate with her via Morse Code tapped on the floor. So she had thanked a god she didn't believe in that Annie's room was sound proofed, then took the younger girl up on her earlier offer to share a bed.

Britta is absolutely, one hundred percent sure that she was very clear about the no cuddling rule though. When she had fallen asleep Annie had been on the other side of the bed entirely, arms wrapped around her stuffed kangaroo Ruthie. Now though the brunette is curled against Britta's side, face nuzzled somewhere between her shoulder and the crook of her neck. One arm is still around Ruthie, but somehow Ruthie has ended up on Britta's stomach, so Annie's really got her arm around Britta's waist. Even their legs are intertwined, and Britta is just about to shake Annie off and have a nice long talk with her about personal space (just because she was asleep doesn't mean she shouldn't have been respecting the rules set up) when she realizes…

Oh.

Annie is shivering. Her skin is covered in goosebumps, and when there is a draft from the window she tightens her grip on Britta and tries to snuggle even closer. Somehow she managed to kick her blankets off and they're at the bottom of the bed, just barely covering her toes.

So Britta grasps the blankets between her own toes and carefully inches them up until she can grab them in the hand that Annie has not pinned to her side. Feeling rather victorious for having recovered the blankets without waking Annie, Britta pulls them up and tucks them around her friend.

It takes a moment, but Annie seems to warm up, and she lets out a quiet sigh of contentment that Britta tries not to let phase her. But it's no use. Annie's eyelids are fluttering, and she's got a small smile on her lips, and then her nose twitches like a bunny rabbit and Britta is a lost cause. She may have used the "sister" thing to manipulate Annie earlier, but that doesn't make it untrue. Annie _is_ like a little sister to her, and she's got the power to melt Britta's heart in one minute or less. She just looks so innocent in her sleep that Britta's big sister protective instincts all kick in at once.

Which is why she can't bring herself to wake Annie up. In fact, it makes her want to work especially hard not to wake Annie up. So she doesn't try to roll her off, or squirm out of her grasp. She sighs and relaxes, and her head drops to rest on top of Annie's, and her free arm reaches to wrap around Annie's waist and hold her just where she is.

Britta closes her eyes, and just as she is drifting back to sleep she thinks that maybe the smell of strawberry shampoo isn't the worst smell in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Once upon a time this was a oneshot. Now it's a two-shot. It happens.**

It's late, and as Annie patters down the hallway she feels bad for what she's about to do. The bedroom door is half open, and she slips inside, nearly tripping on a fat ginger cat sprawled out on a pile of dirty clothes. Taking a deep breath, she approaches the bedside and leans down close to the sleeping woman.

"Britta?"

The blonde stirs, groans, clenches and unclenches her hand, then is still again. From somewhere in the apartment Annie hears a loud creak and panics. She grabs Britta's shoulder, shaking her more roughly than necessary.

"Britta, _please_" she begs, voice catching on the second word.

This time Britta's eyes flutter open, focusing blearily on the panicked girl in front of her. She props herself up on one elbow with a yawn.

"Annie, what's wrong?" she asks. As her mind comes back to her she becomes concerned and sits up a bit straighter.

"I know I'm just being silly, but I was hearing noises, and after we watched that movie tonight it was just really freaking me out, and I was going to turn the TV on, but I can't sleep with that much light, and-"

"C'mon," Britta cuts her off, scooting over in bed, "get in."

"Thank you Britta, I'm sorry."

"S'okay"

Britta settles down again as Annie crawls into bed next to her, pulling the blankets up to her chin and laying on her side, her back to Britta. Their feet brush underneath the blankets and Annie blushes, tucking her knees up near her chest.

Eventually the two are still, and silence envelops the room. Even with Britta just next to her, Annie begins to panic again. It's dark, and she's not in her apartment, and she really should have listened to Britta when she warned her that watching that stupid scary movie at night was a bad idea. And then Britta's stupid cat goes and knocks something off of the dresser, and Annie nearly falls out of bed she's so scared.

"Annie, it's okay, it was just the cat," Britta mumbles from her side of the bed.

"I know… I know that."

But seconds later the curtains rustle with a gust of wind and Annie jumps again, choking back a cry of surprise.

"Annie…"

The bed shifts, and Annie feels Britta move closer to her, placing her hand on Annie's arm. Annie flinches away.

"I'm fine, I'm not scared."

"Bullshit."

"I'm not, really."

Another gust of wind, another poorly disguised cry of fear, and then Britta is pulling her closer, wrapping an arm around her, snuggling her body flush against Annie's. She ducks her mouth down next to the younger girl's ear, and Annie feels her breath hitch in her chest.

"Annie, you're going to be okay. I'm right here. Just close your eyes and go to sleep."

A few of Britta's curls have fallen across her face, and Annie inhales the scent of honey, feeling a warmness pooling low in her belly. She wants to protest, to pull out of Britta's grasp and convince her that she really is fine, maybe protect the last shred of dignity she has left. But the feeling of Britta spooning her, her fingers spread out across Annie's ribcage, her sweet honey curls tickling her cheek, is enough to make Annie close her eyes and drift off to sleep.


End file.
